


The Problem With Rich

by mcschnuggles



Series: Activating Regression Protocol [5]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Caregiver!Brooke, Caregiver!Chloe, Caregiver!Jenna, Caregiver!Michael, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, Regressing!Jeremy, Regressing!Rich
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-06-26 18:45:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15669081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcschnuggles/pseuds/mcschnuggles
Summary: Jeremy had thought Rich was done picking on him now that they both had Squips. Now Rich just has something new to pick on him for.





	1. Chapter 1

            It wouldn’t be a good day.

            Jeremy had a feeling about that from the moment he woke up, but such a feeling was only confirmed when he walked into the bathroom and ended up being on the wrong side of Rich’s fist.

            Jeremy hits the ground, sure that his nose has already started bleeding. “Ow! What the hell is your problem?”

            “What the fuck is up with you?” Rich is practically shouting in his face.

            Jeremy scrambles to his feet, hoping he can make an escape if he’s quick enough. “What are you talking about?”

            “My Squip told me about all that weird baby stuff you do!” Rich accuses him.

            And just like that, Jeremy drops. He’s beginning to recognize the signs of being little, if only slightly, and he’d felt like that might be the case this morning, but when Rich brings it up, all doubts go out the window.     

            “I knew something was up from that day I had to take you to the nurse! How did you even rope three of the hottest girls in school into doing this for you anyway?”

            Jeremy shrinks back. He isn’t making anyone do anything, is he? Michael and Brooke and Chloe and Jenna spend time with him because they want to, don’t they? Had he technically forced them by crying? Jeremy bites his lip. It was probably hard to say no to a big baby crying his eyes out, wasn’t it?

            “What do you even get out of this? Is this how you get your rocks off? Are you that big of a fucking pervert, Heere?”

            Jeremy whimpers and steps back, only to feel his shoulders press against the wall.

            Rich closes the space between them, knotting his fists in Jeremy’s shirt and slamming him against the wall. “Answer me!”

            “Control your human!” The Squip snaps, presumably at Rich’s Squip.

            Rich bolts upright, so Jeremy can only guess his Squip shocked him. “You’re so lucky you have your Squip to defend you,” he growls. “Just remember that he’s _programmed_ to deal with your freaky toddler bullshit.”

            As he leaves, Jeremy sinks to the floor and hides his head in his knees. His chest feels like it’s about to explode with how hard his heart is pounding, and his stomach has turned itself in knots.

            He’s not gonna cry… He’s not gonna cry… He’s not gonna cry…

            “Jeremy?” The Squip lets the words hang until Jeremy feels brave enough to lift his head. He offers a kind smile for Jeremy’s efforts. “Jeremy, pumpkin? Can you be a brave big kid for me and call Michael?”

            His chin starts to tremble out of control, but Jeremy nods and takes out his phone. He wants Michael. And Brooke. And Chloe. And Jenna. But why would he waste their time like this? His fingers hesitate mid-text.

            “Jeremy.” He feels a warmth up his spine, like the Squip is trying to give him a backrub. “Not only is Rich objectively incorrect, but he was saying things designed to hurt your feelings. Not exactly a trustworthy source, if you ask me.”

            Jeremy nods. That makes sense, even if his Squip is programmed to take his side, but he tries not to think about that. The last thing he wants is to start crying in a public bathroom. He needs to at least get home. He sends off the text to Michael and waits.

            The Squip continues rubbing his back while humming some soft tune that keeps Jeremy calm until Michael arrives.

            “Oh, Jer Bear…” Michael’s face falls in sympathy, and that’s enough to make Jeremy’s eyes start filling with tears. He lets out a choked sob.

            He doesn’t fight it as Michael scoops him into the tightest hug possible. Michael’s the best at hugs.

            “Let’s get you home.”

~

Michael: Found Jeremy crying in the bathroom. I took him home.

Brooke: What happened??

Michael: Dunno. He wouldn’t tell me. Be back in 10.

Jenna: You’re not staying with him?

Michael: He told me he wanted to be alone..

Chloe: Yeah that’s not concerning or anything

Michael: I know. I’m just hoping he’ll want to talk after we give him some space.

Michael: Obviously something bad happened, so let’s just leave him alone for today, alright?

Chloe: ugh…fine…

Jenna: If you’re sure…

Brooke: :(

~

            “Jeremy, if you want to make it to school on time, you have to leave within the next three minutes.”

            “I’m not going to school today.” Jeremy mutters, pulling the covers up over his head. “Too tired.”

            “I know when you’re lying, Jeremy.”

            Tears form in Jeremy’s eyes without his permission. That whole debacle with Rich has just left him feeling vulnerable and weak. This might be what wavering on headspace feels like, but he’s not sure. All he’s sure of is that he doesn’t want to see Rich anytime soon. He might slip, and even if he doesn’t, he knows he’ll start crying.

            “So? I’m not going.”

            “Jeremy, it’s imperative that you attend school.” The Squip must know that that won’t work in the slightest, because he changes tactics almost immediately. “Keep in mind that I can force Rich to stay away from you, if need be. You have nothing to fear.”

            “No. I don’t wanna go to school and you can’t make me.” Jeremy says, only half-pouting. “Now go away.”

            The Squip sighs but does as he’s told, and the room is left with an eerie silence.

            With a pout, Jeremy shuffles further under his mound of blankets. He feels terrible, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He’s absolutely exhausted.

            He’d told Michael that he was okay, that his Squip could take care of him for the day, and Michael had reluctantly agreed. It wasn’t until Jeremy saw him back out of the driveway that he allowed himself to completely fall apart. He cried for at least an hour before he tuckered himself out enough to fall asleep, and even then, he’d had terrible nightmares, which created the perfect storm for him not being able to sleep at night.

            He’d slept too much for him to actually be tired, and any time he tried to close his eyes and rest, his mind would inevitably bring him back to the incident with Rich, and he’d start crying all over again. He spent most of the night scrolling through his phone, trying to shake off either the bad dreams or bad thoughts that had just invaded his mind.

            He lets himself doze, but when he jolts awake to realize his fingers are pushing against his lips, he decides that can’t happen anymore. He shoves his hands under his pillow.

            God, Rich was right. He _is_ a baby, and all this stuff _is_ weird.

            What’s wrong with him?

~

            Jeremy stays in bed for most of the day, only bothering to get up for food. He should’ve known his day wouldn’t be easy though, because Michael stops by.

            “Hey, Jer.”

            Jeremy glances up from his phone. Why did he have to roll over? If he’d just stayed on his side so he could be facing the wall, he could’ve pretended to be asleep. But now Michael’s obligated to pretend like he cares. “Hey.”

            “Are you alright?”

            “Fine.”

            “I’m just worried about you, dude. You never skip.”

            Jeremy shrugs. “Just needed to catch up on my sleep is all.”

            “Jeremy, can we talk about yesterday?” Michael sits on the edge of Jeremy’s bed. Jeremy tries not to make eye contact, because he knows Michael has that knowing look in his eye that’ll make Jeremy break down in a second. “Someone said something, didn’t they? You never get this worked up unless someone else says something first.”

            He knows. He knows and now he’s obligated to waste his time trying to fix it. Jeremy starts to cry.

            “Jer Bear…” Michael opens his arms for a hug, but Jeremy squirms out of his grip. “Buddy, what’s wrong?”

            Jeremy shakes his head. His insides feel icky and gross and sad, and he knows he’s only wasting Michael’s time with his dumb little tantrum.

            “I can’t fix it unless you tell me what’s wrong.”

            Jeremy ducks his head, staring at a spot on his bed. Maybe if he stares at this spot long enough, Michael will get tired of trying to talk to him and leave. That way Michael can do stuff that’s actually fun instead of being stuck with a dumb big baby like Jeremy.

            Michael leans in and lowers his voice. “Did the Squip malfunction again? Was he mean to you again?”

            Jeremy shakes his head, then remembers how he made his Squip go away and starts to cry all over again. Then, when thinking about how much he misses his Squip, he remembers that his Squip is only programmed to put up with him and that him being mean was probably the closest Jeremy has seen to him being truthful.

            Michael shushes him and runs a hand through his hair. “It’s alright. Just breathe. You’re okay.”

            Jeremy nods and tries his best to wipe his face clean.

            “It was Rich, wasn’t it?”

            Jeremy bursts into tears.

            “Oh jeez. I’m sorry, Jer. Can I give you a hug?”

            Jeremy, crying too hard to think about how nobody wants him, nods and desperately holds out his arms.

            Michael pulls him into the biggest hug he can muster, where he pulls Jeremy into his lap and Jeremy clings to his torso like a baby koala.

            “I know. Rich is mean, isn’t he?”

            Jeremy nods into Michael’s shoulder and sobs, allowing himself to be held and snuggled for a little bit. Michael really does give the best hugs.

            As the quiet in his room settles, the sound of voices in the hall becomes readily apparent.

            Jeremy fists his hands in Michael’s hoodie, trying to sink out of sight.

            Michael rubs his back. “It’s okay, Jer Bear. It’s just the girls, who should either _keep it down or get in here_ ,” he adds pointedly.

            The three girls shuffle in, and Jeremy sinks into Michael’s shoulder in a weak attempt to hide his face.

            Michael beings to sway. “They wanted to come check on you, too! Isn’t that nice?”

            Brooke leans in to stroke his hair. “Is he okay?”

            “It might be too many people at once.” Michael says. “I don’t think he had a very good day today either.”

            “You okay, little buddy?” Jenna asks.

            Jeremy nods, but after a moment, he realizes that they all may not want to be there. He tucks his face back against Michael’s shoulder, which is quickly becoming his sole form of protection. “Can leave if you want to…”

            “Um, of course we don’t wanna leave!” Brooke points out. “Besides, Chloe’s been waiting all day to give you the thing she bought for you.”

            Jeremy frowns. “For me?”

            “For you!” Chloe straightens up, a huge, fuzzy blanket in her hands. She throws it around Jeremy and Michael, doing her best to tuck them in.

            Jeremy grins through his tears. He recognizes those colors. “Crystal Gems.” Last time he’d felt little, he’d been at school, but Chloe had managed to help him feel safe enough to stay big by singing one of the songs to him in between classes. Steven Universe was one of his favorite cartoons to watch while little, and while she didn’t quite know the words, it had really helped regardless. He can’t believe she remembered!

            Chloe grins and bops him on the nose. “I knew you’d like it.”

            Jenna snickers. “Chloe got two because Hot Topic was having a sale and Steven Universe is her favorite show.”

            Chloe swats at her arm. “Shut up, Jenna!”

            Trying her best to ignore them, Brooke sits on Jeremy’s bed and thumbs the tears from his cheeks. “Are you up to telling us what Rich said to you?” she asks.

            Jeremy tucks his face into Michael’s shoulder, and Michael tightens his hug. “He said…” Jeremy trails off. “He knows.”

            Chloe’s eyes turn murderous. “I’ll kill him.”

            While Jeremy giggles, Michael still looks over his shoulder to flash her a concerned look. “That’s not necessary.”

            Jeremy’s smile fades. “And then… then he said that I forced you guys into this. And that I’m weird. And that Skip doesn’t actually like me…” Jeremy takes in a shaky breath. He’s falling deeper into headspace with each word. “An’ I don’t wanna see ’im again a’cause I know he’s gonna make me feel sad again.”

            Michael tightens his hug, and suddenly Jeremy has three cooing girls surrounding him.

            “We’ll keep you safe at school.” Brooke assures him. Instead of holding his hand like she usually does, since his hands are still knotted in Michael’s hoodie, she simply places hers on top of his. “We can do the buddy system!”

            Jeremy smiles. It would be nice to have someone close by, because sometimes he can get distracted and wander off if he’s not careful. “Okay.”

            “And don’t ever think for a minute that we don’t want you, okay?” Brooke says. She presses a big kiss to his cheek.

            Everyone murmurs agreements, though Chloe adds in a quiet “Rich sucks” as she goes in to kiss Jeremy’s forehead.

            Michael kiss Jeremy’s other cheek. “What do you say to a movie?”

            Jeremy’s relieved that Michael knows he’s too little for video games right now. His hands wouldn’t work right if he tried, and besides, he’s too tired to do much more than cuddle. “Steven?”

            “You wanna watch Steven Universe, Jer Bear?”

            Jeremy nods.

            “I got it.” Jenna goes for the TV, unsurprised to find every single episode of Steven Universe on Jeremy’s DVR, while Michael picks Jeremy up and moves him to the end of his bed.

            Chloe absently strokes Jeremy’s hair. “Who do you wanna cuddle with, Jeremy?”

            “Mica and Chloe.” Jeremy murmurs. Then his face goes red. “Sorry, Brookie. Sorry, J.”

            The two girls are quick to reassure him as Chloe works on wrapping the pair of them in his new Steven Universe blanket.

            Michael shuffles in on his other side, brandishing Jeremy’s teddy bear and his pacifier. It takes more than a little encouragement to get Jeremy to actually take his pacifier, but everyone’s sure to heap on the praise when he does.

            He isn’t sure when he falls asleep, but for the first time that day, it’s actually restful.

~

            Jeremy’s braced for the worst.

            And if the worst is Rich actually meeting him in the parking lot to harass him, then it’s a good thing he was braced for it.

            “Back off, Rich.” Chloe snarls.

            “Jeremy, don’t tell me you’re scared of me.” Rich sneers. There’s something in his eyes, the way he pauses to glare at Brooke and Chloe and Jenna, that’s off-putting for Jeremy. Michael, too, now that he thinks about it, but he’s always glared at Michael.

            “Squip?” Jeremy requests.

            The Squip materializes. “Hm? Oh, for goodness sake,” his Squip mutters. It takes Jeremy a second to realize he must be talking with Rich’s Squip. “I could’ve simply shared the data on age regression I’ve collected this far.”

            “What?” Jeremy’s only getting one half of the conversation, but he understands enough.

            “Honestly, it’s not sibling rivalry. It’s bullying. So either shock your human back into line or get him a coloring book.”

            Wait, did that mean…? Was Rich being mean to him… because he wanted to be small, too? Despite his uneasiness, he couldn’t let Rich just continue to be sad. Sure, he was mean sometimes, but maybe he’d be nicer if he figured out how to relax.

            “Guys?” Jeremy tugs on Michael’s sleeve to get his attention. Suddenly all attention is on him, including Rich’s. He swallows back his discomfort. “Richie’s small, too.”


	2. Chapter 2

            “Rich, you need to stop what you are doing immediately.” His Squip intones. “Not only are you antagonizing three popular girls, you’re making yourself look foolish while doing it. _Stop_.”

            Rich scowls. Stupid Jeremy, with all of his dumb friends there to hug him if he needed it. Why did they have to corner him like this?

            Jeremy steps forward. “It’s okay. Listen—”

            “Don’t touch me, tall ass!” Rich snaps.

            Jeremy stumbles back, almost losing his balance. Rich would’ve laughed if that happened, because the dumb baby deserves to be hurt. But instead, Michael puts his hands on Jeremy’s shoulders to steady him.

            Brooke scowls, and for a second, Rich regrets his actions. If they were enough to get Little Miss Sunshine and Rainbows angry… He doesn’t even want to think about that. “Hey, why don’t you leave Jeremy out of this?” she snaps. “He was only trying to be nice to you, which is more than you deserve after the way you picked on him.”

            “Why don’t you go bother Jake Dillinger?” Chloe adds.

            “Guys, maybe this isn’t the best place to do this? Especially with Jeremy here?” Michael points out. Jeremy’s starting to visibly shake from the tense atmosphere. “So maybe we should put off this whole debacle until after school?”

            With a sigh, Chloe takes a resigned step back, which Rich takes as his cue to storm off. He pretends not to hear Michael speaking in the softest, most comforting voice he’s ever heard, because he might break otherwise.

            “Come on, Jer Bear.” Michael says. “Let’s go take some deep breaths before class starts, okay?”

            Nope. Definitely didn’t hear any of that.

~

            “Hm,” his Squip muses. “Interesting. Apparently it comes from a programming error that lowers one’s ability to process emotions properly. And this is pure speculation, but it may not be an issue unless the subject already has age regressor tendencies.”

            Rich rolls his eyes. “I don’t care.” Honestly, it was better than this stupid history lecture, but the less he had to think of that stupid thumbsucker Jeremy, the better.

            “You should care, seeing as it is now also your problem.”

            “It is _not_ my problem.” Rich snaps. “I’m not some pants-wetting crybaby, okay?”

            The Squip scans over his data. “Does this constitute as the ‘temper tantrum’ stage?”

            Rich can feel his face burning. As if he’d ever! “Oh my God, just please stop talking.”

            “Rich, your heart is racing and your blood pressure has significantly increased. Relaxation measures must be taken immediately.” His Squip goes back to his files. “It seems coloring is a beneficial activity.”

            Rich couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There were bits about coloring and temper tantrums in whatever data Jeremy’s Squip sent his? “Let me see that.”

            His Squip conjured the document into his retinas, allowing him to scan over it freely. The whole thing used to be rather disorienting and a bit scary, but after using it to cheat on almost every test, it didn’t faze him anymore.

            “Recommended activities: coloring, napping, watching television shows/movies.”

            Rich skims down the endless information, which quickly blurred into a mess of pointlessness. Really, why were Squips so hung up on inane details? Did it really matter exactly how much coloring lowered BPM? It takes Rich a second to realize, but most of this applies specifically to Jeremy.

            “Comfort objects: Jeremy has a teddy wearing a Spiderman costume that Michael bought for him at Build-a-Bear Workshop. He also has a pacifier, that he more often than not tends to reject. He also has a Steven Universe blanket that was a gift from Chloe. Presumably, the comfort derived from these objects came from those who gave him such objects rather than the objects alone.

            Additional notes: Always refer to Jeremy as a ‘big kid’ or ‘brave big kid.’ Does not take kindly to being called a baby. While his Squip is fully equipped to make Jeremy feel calm, it is more beneficial for both Jeremy and the Squip to find him an actual caretaker. Likes music. Likes to be held. Prefers pet name ‘pumpkin.’ Scared of spiders and thunderstorms. Misses his mother.”

            Rich rolls his eyes again for good measure. Jeremy’s such a stupid baby. Why does his Squip even bother with all this pointless information? Why does his Squip even bother at all? Surely a super-quantum intel unit processor has better things to do than keeping a teenager from having a breakdown like a toddler.

            “What’s the difference between helping an individual become accepted among their peers and helping an individual deal with stress in a non-harmful way?” his Squip asks. “We’re programmed to help you, no matter what form that help may take.”

            Bullshit. Bull-fucking-shit. “Just, go away…”

            His Squip does as asked, but it doesn’t help.

            Now Jeremy’s getting gifts, too? Not only do these people put up with his weird baby stuff, but they basically _encourage_ it? What kind of nutcases were they? To think that needing to be small and cared for was okay…

            The aforementioned nutcases find him the second school ends. Chloe doesn’t even try to hide she’s glaring. “Get in the car,” she tells him, and he knows better than to argue. He climbs in the front seat.

            Jeremy’s nestled in the back, sitting on Michael’s lap as an extra line of protection.

            He even has a _favorite_. God, what a spoiled brat.

            “So why am I here?” he asks.

            “Well, you know Jeremy’s secret.” Chloe answers as she puts the car in drive. “So why don’t we talk about it while we give you a ride home.”

            “Oh, come on! It’s not like I’m gonna tell anyone about the dumb little freak.” He watches with a sick sense of satisfaction as Jeremy shrinks into Michael’s hug, his eyes welling with tears.

            “You don’t need to be mean to Jeremy.” Brooke says, but it sounds like more of a warning than a statement.

            Jenna retrieves Jeremy’s teddy bear from his bag, which is even more pathetic in person. The thing actually does calm him down. Jeremy cuddles it close to his chest.

            Rich scoffs. “Whatever.”

            “He’s small too.” Jeremy reminds them.

            Why did the little snot have to remind them of that? It isn’t even true! He’s not a gross baby like Jeremy, and he certainly doesn’t need anyone to hold him the way Michael’s holding Jeremy. “Oh, fuck off, Jeremy! Like you know anything!”

            “So you don’t regress.” Chloe concludes.

            “Obviously.”

            Rich keeps his eyes on her so he doesn’t have to see how Brooke and Michael are showering Jeremy with affection in the rearview mirror. Hugging him, kissing him, brushing the tears from his eyes. All for shedding a couple lousy tears. What a weakling. What a baby.

            “So, it’s whatever. You don’t have to gather around and pretend that you’re Jeremy’s parents or whatever shit you like to do. I’ll leave him alone. Just let me leave.”

            Chloe eyes him one last time, and he does his best to keep his scowl in place. It feels like an eternity before she finally responds. “Alright.”

            The car descends into uncomfortable silence. He can hear his Squip arguing—probably with Jeremy’s Squip—over his head.

            “And now his blood pressure is higher than ever.” There’s a pause. “Convince your human to offer some comfort, then. Do something, at least. It’s your programming flaw that started this. Rich had no thoughts of regressing before Jeremy.”

            Rich’s jaw locks. He doesn’t have any thoughts of regressing at all? The only reason he even bugged Jeremy about it in the first place was because he had no right being around so many hot girls all at once. If he’d known it’d turn into… this, he wouldn’t have bothered.

            The sounds of his Squip talking die down, prompting him to look up, and his Squip closes her eyes, resigned. “I’m sorry, Rich.”

            “Wha—” He can’t even finish the thought before a powerful shock is shooting down his spine. The pain acts to reset his defenses, and he immediately bursts into tears.

            The fuzziness he’d been feeling in his head all week is suddenly all-consuming, and now he doesn’t even have the will in him to be angry. He curls into a little ball in his seat, unable to stop sobbing. He feels so small, so little, so _weak_.

            He hates it.

            Chloe casts him a nervous sideways glance. “Brooke?”

            “My parents are home,” she confirms.

            “Mine aren’t.” Michael answers. “We can go there.”

            The car shifts as Chloe takes a hard right.

            “So does that mean…” Jenna trails off.

            “That was definitely an ‘I’m little’ cry.” Brooke confirms.

            “Why did you do that?” Rich hisses at his Squip.

            His Squip merely lifts an eyebrow. “You were going to repress it and harm yourself otherwise. Now you have someone to care for you.”

            “But these guys don’t want to care for me! No one does.”

            As soon as he thinks the words, he feels someone’s hand reach over to stroke his hair. That’s when he realizes that he might’ve been speaking out loud by accident. God, why did he have to feel so hazy and weird? Now he was only making a bigger idiot out of himself.

            “Do age regressors all talk to themselves?” Brooke mutters from the back seat.

            “Nope. Just the ones we get.”

            The car remains in a respectful silence until they arrive at Michael’s house. Jenna takes Rich by the hand and leads him inside. She offers a kind smile, but Rich is too distracted watching Michael, who’s carrying Jeremy without a problem. Is Michael just that strong or is Jeremy just that skinny? Rich wishes someone would carry him like that. Like Jake. Jake looks super strong.

            By the time Rich makes it downstairs, Jeremy’s already settled in a bean bag. Michael’s kneeling beside him, talking to Jeremy in a very hushed tone. Eventually, Jeremy nods, and Michael slips a pacifier into his mouth before pulling him into a big hug.

            Rich’s gut twists in what normally would be anger, but now just comes out as sadness. How come Jeremy gets all the attention? And the hugs? Rich winces to realize how badly he’d been chewing on the inside of his mouth as he zoned out. He tastes blood.

            Jeremy blushes and hides his face behind his bear when he notices Rich staring. Chloe joins the two shortly after, leaving Rich with Brooke and Jenna staring down at him.

            “So you age regress too…” Brooke trails off, obviously having no idea where to take that statement.

            Rich nods. His senses almost shut down when Jenna pulls him into a hug. “You’re okay,” she tells him. He sobs as she gives him a comforting squeeze. “We’ll take care of you.”

            He could feel the immediate tension over his head, but he knows better than to expect anything else. Why would they waste time taking care of him when they have Jeremy instead?

            “We should probably talk to Jeremy about this first.” Brooke says, confirming his suspicions. “After all, he’s the one that’s terrified of Rich.”

            “Jeremy?” Chloe asks. “How does your imaginary friend feel?”

            His imaginary friend? He has an imaginary friend?

            “Skip isn’t happy.” Jeremy mutters, hiding his face in his teddy bear. “He’s scared Richie’s gonna hurt me again. I am too, but Richie needs someone to take care of him.”

            “You wanna go give Rich a hug?” Michael suggests. The way he’s glancing over at Rich says he’s got clear sympathy, but not enough to stop comforting Jeremy.

            Jeremy shakes his head. He tightens his grip around Chloe, knowing she’s more likely to take his side. “Don’t wanna get pushed…”

            Rich bolts to his feet. “Uh, he doesn’t have to! I can… apologize?” He looks to his Squip, who gives him a reassuring nod. He crouches beside Jeremy. “I’m sorry that I said mean things and pushed you and made fun of you. I didn’t mean it. I was just scared… and jealous.”

            Jeremy smiles shyly. “It’s okay… Just don’t do it again, okay?”

            Rich nods very seriously. He holds out his pinkie. “Pinkie promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> mcschnuggles.tumblr.com


End file.
